Strongbow, Golden Explosion

Following on from the hugely successful Strongbow “ Hero “ spot, which launched the premium bottled cider brand into multiple worldwide territories, Heineken International commissioned a second epic tale of thirst quenching, arrow shooting, orchard exploding action, this time based around an urban rooftop bar.

Filmed in the blazing heat of Cape Town, we see three thirsty lads making their way through a crowded rooftop bar, as the Strongbow archers, like thirst quenching special forces, fill the surrounding rooftops and take aim at apple laden orchards seen on the skyscrapers surrounding the bar. The archers shoot their rain of arrows into the trees on command, causing an explosion of sparkling, refreshing apple cider.

The commercials VFX team led by Ian Jacobs worked closely with Ogilvy
and director Des Mullen from Max Films to augment and extend the city
environment, adding extra buildings using super high quality environment
mapping to help them perfectly blend in.

Apart from the urban locations, the shoot also used studio and
orchard locations for high speed Phantom photography, including an 80ft
square black backdrop for multiple water cannon plates. Sit back and
enjoy the ride – with epic soundtrack scored by John Walsh.